by Patrick Bromley
I love Flashback Weekend, Chicago's biggest and best horror convention held every summer in Rosemont, Illinois. Launched by married couple Mike and Mia Kerz 24 years ago, it hosts the biggest names in the genre as celebrity guests, plus panel discussions, live concerts, film screenings, after parties, and an annual costume contest (hosted by Svengoolie!) that's a highlight every year. It's three of my favorite days, surrounded by great people and great movies.
I've been attending Flashback for probably 15 years, first as a guest of my Horror BFF Heather Wixson, and then when she was no longer able to travel to come out and host around the time of COVID, I stepped in and have been acting as co-host for the last six years. Alongside my co-hosts and fellow Chicago critics Steve Prokopy (Third Coast Review) and Nick DiGilio (The Nick D Podcast), I've been hosting guest panels since 2021. This year's convention featured another banger lineup that included a massive Scream franchise reunion, plus roundups for Halloween II and Night of the Creeps, David Naughton, Megan Lawless, Dermot Mulroney, Spencer Charnas from Ice Nine Kills, Steven Weber, Henry Thomas, William Katt, Alan Howarth, and many more guests. Here's how the weekend went.
I had the very first panel on Friday, which was the first of many Scream reunions with Marley Shelton (Scream 4) and Roger L. Jackson, the voice of Ghostface. Both were super nice and forthcoming about their experiences on the franchise, with Marley Shelton (who, it should be said, touched my arm) telling a great story about being confused for an extra and Jackson bringing down the house doing multiple voices including Mojo Jojo from The Powerpuff Girls. I didn't get to ask as many questions about Planet Terror as I would have liked (which would have meant making the whole panel about Planet Terror), but things were off to a pretty good start. Nick D. hosted the Halloween II panel after that, featuring Dick Warlock and several of the actors who played the nurses in the sequel. Gloria Gifford got the best soundbite when she talked about her 48 Hrs. audition for Walter Hill.
After those two panels, Dann and Morgan Gire did the formal introduction ceremony and then Svengoolie took the stage for "Svengoolie Live," a late-night talk show-style interview show with guests David Naughton and David Arquette. No disrespect to the former, but Arquette was an amazing interview, telling wrestling stories (Sven is a big wrestling fan!) and killing with his reactions to getting bad reviews for Rocky Horror. Arquette comes off as exactly the person you think he is: silly, sweet, self-effacing. He got a big con bump for me.
I spent the rest of Friday buying too many movies in the dealer room (thanks to our friend Brian K. for the Vinegar Syndrome hookup!) and went to bed watching In the Mouth of Madness on my laptop so I'd be ready for the podcast with Adam. I did not dream about Sutter Cane. I dreamt about Marley Shelton touching my arm, a thing that happened.
Saturday was an early one, kicking off with Steve P. and author/filmmaker Jason Paul Collum talking about '80s horror and both the killer Santas from Silent Night, Deadly Night and Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 being interviewed by Nick. I got to speak with Scream 6's Tony Revolori and Scream 7's Celeste O'Connor next, and it was one of the most fun panels I did all weekend because they were both so friendly and funny. Neither one even knew that the other was in a Spider-Man movie until I pointed it out and their reactions to the realization was really great.
Next were panels with William Katt and Trick 'r Treat's Quinn Lord, followed by a live recording of The Nick D. Podcast with Nick DiGilio and Esmerelda Leon. This taping has become an annual tradition at Flashback, and Nick's guests this year were Night of the Creeps stars Jill Whitlow, Jason Lively, and Tom Atkins, who is almost 90 I think (?) and still a great interview and class act but who has become pretty hard of hearing, leading to the biggest laughs of the show when Lively was deliberately mis-translating all of the questions so Atkins could better hear them. Jason Lively is a trip. After the podcast, Nick made one of my lifelong dreams come true when he learned I had never met Svengoolie despite being a fan of him since watching him host monster movies in my bedroom as a little kid. Because he's a friend of Sven's (Svengoolie even wrote the forward to Nick's upcoming book 40 Years, 40 Horror Films), Nick brought me up to meet him and then made sure I was first in line to get a picture with the horror host. Truly one of the high points of my weekend. Thanks a million, Nick.
I got to host the final panel of the day with Spencer Charnas of Ice Nine Kills, a band I didn't know much about when I was supposed to the panel last year before Charnas had to cancel due to illness. I brushed up on them this year and have fallen in love with their two Silver Scream albums, which I've listened to pretty much nonstop since Flashback. I got to talk to Spencer about our love of horror movies, about writing and recording songs for Scream 7 and Terrifier 3, about making the leap to feature films, and a bunch of other stuff. He was super chill and nice and I hope he comes back someday because I'd like to do his panel again. Another big con bump.
Erika and Rosie arrived just in time for the annual Sinister Visions costume contest, another annual highlight of Flashback. This year did not disappoint, from the woman who literally had to be ushered off stage because she wouldn't stop singing "The Phantom of the Opera" to the Cujo costume with the removable face to reveal the St. Bernard in his rabid form. The winner was a riff on Pennywise complete with impressive homemade (and expandable!) wings, but I really felt like the woman who dressed as the bathtub ghost -- complete with actual bathtub -- from the remake of Thir13en Ghosts should have taken top honors.
The final day of Flashback kicked off with Steve P. interviewing Nick about his upcoming horror book, which was cool even if I wasn't invited (I am never invited). I got to do two back to back Scream panels, the first with Scream 7's Ghostface stuntman Jeremy Conner and one of that movie's red herrings, actor Kraig Dane, and the second with Scream star Joseph Whipp. I was nervous about the first panel seeing as neither guest speaks in the movie, but both were great conversationalists. I could have talked to Conner all day in particular because I'm fascinated by stunt people and the amazing work they do. Joseph Whipp hit the stage and started monologuing to the point that I wasn't sure I would even be able to ask a question, but I did finally get to ask him stuff about working with Wes Craven (on Wes's birthday!) in both Scream and A Nightmare on Elm Street, his work on soaps, and, most importantly, his work in Death Spa. He was a great sport.
After all of that, Flashback Weekend came to a close. There are so many people to thank for making it such a a special one! Thanks to the celebrity guests for being so generous with their time and talent and for all being so nice. Thanks to the amazing staff for being great and welcoming and pulling off an amazing show. Thanks to the Masters of Ceremonies Dann and Morgan Gire for all the cool videos you posted and for all the extra stuff you did all weekend long, even when some interview subjects were less hospitable. Thanks to Kat McGill for taking so many great pictures and for smiling in the front row of panels when I couldn't have been more nervous. Thanks to my Horror BFF Heather for first bringing me to Flashback all those years ago. Thanks to my co-hosts Nick and Steve for being so cool and keeping things running smoothly in the panel room. (Nick, thanks again for introducing me to Sven, and Steve, thanks for dinner!) Thanks to Shawn, a great sound man and super nice guy, plus all the AV folks for making sure everything looked and sounded good on stage. Thanks to all the wonderful people I got to meet over the weekend, whether it was because they had a nice word to say about an interview they saw me do or we just struck up a conversation about a t-shirt or a movie. Horror fans really are the best. Thanks to Mike and Adam Riske for hanging out. Thanks to Erika and Rosie (and Charlie in absentia) for the constant support and love.
Most of all, thanks to Mike and Mia Kerz for putting this weekend on every year and letting be a small part of their huge horror family. Every year, guest I speak with from the attendees to the celebrities comment on how much they loved the vibe of Flashback: how relaxed it is, how well run it is, how much it feels like a family. And it does! Mia and Mike have cultivated that feeling over two decades and it has trickled down to everyone else. I'm very fortunate to have been a tiny part of the best horror convention in Chicago.
To stay up to date on all things Flashback for next year, check out the con's official website www.flashbackweekend.com. Those of you who are still on Facebook should join the official Flashback Weekend Facebook group, which is a great horror community and where the Flashback attendees are posting photos with celebrities from the weekend.
Next year's Flashback has already been announced and it's in June instead of July. That means less waiting!
Thank you Danny Arroyo in the Flashback Facebook group for the use of some of your photos!
Excuse me, Patrick. 🤨 You mean to tell us you popped Megan Lawless' [convention panel] cherry? And then she hugged you and took a picture with your kid... on top of Marley Shelton touching your arm? 😵💫😵 Some dudes are just born lucky, l guess. 😊😛
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